In a potentially significant piece of news for the future of high-end theatrical film distribution in the U.S., AMC Entertainment announced today that it would be opening 65 ScreenX and 4DX cinema auditoriums in the U.S. and Europe in the next few years. These would be the first ScreenX and 4DX cinema auditoriums at AMC Theatres locations in the U.S., a big move for the country’s biggest theater chain that is betting on the premiumization of the theatrical experience … although not all filmgoers and movie fans are exactly taken with the “premium” technology. AMC Entertainment’s deal to design and install the ScreenX and 4DX auditoriums is with Seoul-based cinema system developer CJ 4DPlex, which has a global screen count of more than 430 Screenx and 780 4DX installations to date.
ScreenX is defined by the projector and screen experience, using a multi-projector system to project onto three rather than one surface, creating a 270-degree panoramic screen that effectively begins to wrap around the patrons seated in the auditorium for an immersive experience. These new ScreenX auditoriums will boast Barco laser projectors and recliner seating. 4DX auditoriums, on the other hand, have standard screens but instead structure themselves around immersion through other sensory means, such as elements that evoke “wind, lightning, scents and other effects,” according to Variety. This effectively makes 4DX the most modern incarnation of the sort of gimmick-driven immersion techniques that gave us the likes of Smell-O-Vision, or the theater gimmicks of B-movie maestro William Castle, albeit with a sheen of modern professionalism.
The first ScreenX installations in AMC Theatres are expected to open to the public in the summer of 2025, with the first 4DX installations following in the autumn, with a rollout for all 65 auditoriums being completed by 2027. Upcoming films compatible with ScreenX and 4DX, meanwhile include the likes of A Minecraft Movie, Sinners, F1, Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, 28 Years Later and Jurassic World Rebirth, among others.
With that said, user reviews on the patron experience of existing ScreenX and 4DX facilities has been decidedly mixed, to say the least. Factors such as patron positioning within the theater can be integral to the effectiveness of the experience, and there are arguably more points of potential failure with three projectors attempting to synch, which has led to some user reports of ScreenX theaters where the expanded screen is not perfectly synched, among other aspects. There is of course also the question of price and value to consider, as these technologies are merely the most recent way for theaters to justify significantly higher ticket costs as they fight to remain a relevant, key cultural experience in the home theater era. At the very least, we can expect theaters to continue offering lower-priced, standard screenings alongside these new ones, which are more likely to entice users curious about the march of audiovisual progress. With AMC Theatres implementing the technology, however, far more consumers in the U.S. will likely have an opportunity to decide if they find the technology of ScreenX and 4DX to be genuinely appealing, or overheated gimmickry.
Jim Vorel is Paste’s Movies editor and resident genre geek. You can follow him on Twitter or on Bluesky for more film writing.
